Delhi Capitals (DC) pacer Khaleel Ahmed sheds light on his selection as a travel reserve for the upcoming T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies. Khaleel Ahmed who had played for India long back in 2019 after that couldn’t secure his place in the team. Khaleel Ahmed played IPL and domestic games to improve his skills and brought some changes in his bowling like in line and lengths, etc.
It was a challenging journey- Khaleel Ahmed
When the Indian team declared the squad for the T20 World Cup Khaleel Ahmed was added as a travel reserve and he was quite emotional and yet happy to get a chance again after a long time in the team. Khaleel was having an interaction with DC podcast. He said:
“The way the past few months were going and the way the IPL started, I had the intuition that something good would happen . As the IPL matches progressed, my confidence continued to grow. I realized I was bowling well, and it has always been about moving one step ahead. Finally, when the name came, I was so happy, and it’s a step ahead for me,” he said.
Khaleel Ahmed has played 14 T2OIS and picked 13 wickets with an economy of 8.82. Khaleel Ahmed is the kind of player who can shift momentum with a wicket just needs to bowl the correct lengths and hit the ball on the right arc where batsmen would lose his wicket.
“Reflecting on what was a challenging journey, 2019 was a long time ago. Every day, at the back of my mind, I missed that feeling of playing for the country. Every time I used to watch India play, I used to imagine what I would have done if I had there on the team. So, every day was like a battle and these kinds of conversations were going on inside my head,”
I am going to play all the matches- Khaleel Ahmed
Further, he also mentions his break and how he made a comeback in IPL:
“After the last IPL, I took only a week’s break and embarked on this journey. I made sure I played all the domestic matches. It’s tough as a fast bowler, but I made up my mind that irrespective of what happens to me, I’m going to play all the matches. I pushed myself mentally in the past year and have grown with it,”
“Mentally, you just have to fight for it, day, night, or any time, because my life has always been about cricket. My thoughts have only been about cricket, nothing else bothers me,” he added.
“I believe this is the best moment for the fast bowlers to come to light. If a bowler performs in tough situations like these, he will be considered a King, and I want to be that King. So, this is what my mentality has been about the current scenario,” he stated.
Khaleel Ahmed is having a good season with the ball picked 14 wickets till now. Hope we can see him in a blue jersey again with the same intent and power.